SPORTING EVENT CASE STUDY

Trinity Powers Red Bull’s Crashed Ice World Championships

Since 2001, Red Bull’s Crashed Ice competitions have pitted the world’s fastest skaters against each other in a no-holds-barred, guns blazing race to the finish. On steep downhill courses up to 600 metres long, athletes sprint, jostle and slide their way to the front of the pack, fighting for victory as they navigate an unforgiving track.

The heats are breathtaking, but in order to produce an event of the high calibre that athletes and fans expect, the amount of planning, coordination and work that goes on behind the scenes is equally intense. With so much depending on reliable, effective temporary power, choosing the right partner is crucial.

And when the planners of the “fastest sport on skates” needed the right temporary power solution, they turned to Trinity Power — you could say we dominate the field.

Red Bull has been pushing the envelope for extreme sports for decades, and the 2018 Crashed Ice World Championships in Edmonton were no exception. Heading the event’s management and successful execution was Gestev, an industry-leading major sporting events organizer based in Quebec.

In addition to producing Crashed Ice, Gestev also has a hand in corporate events, entertainment, and managing large sites including the Videotron Centre – the second largest arena in Quebec.

As soon as Gestev had scouted the location for the event, they knew they would need a temporary power expert to bring their plans to fruition, and they brought Trinity Power on board.

 

A Complex Playing Field

The site for the Crashed Ice event was large and complex. The location was divided into several zones, and each zone required power. Everything from ice makers and chillers to ticket booths, work trailers and TV and audiovisual equipment had to be supplied with the right amount of power at the right times.

“The scale and complexity can’t be overlooked,” says George Denny, the event organizer who headed up the Gestev team. “With the course being well over 400 metres long, with 40 metres vertical ascent, the distances that we needed to lay the cables was extreme.”

Because power was required for the construction equipment and workers’ trailers, temporary power had to be in place from day one at the site. And during the event, the power had to run continuously, day and night, to ensure everything went smoothly.

 

The Winning Game Plan

With Crashed Ice being broadcast to many countries around the world, the pressure was on to design a fool-proof temporary power system that would meet the complex requirements of this unique event.

Never daunted, Trinity sharpened our skates and got to work creating a solution and sourcing the equipment.

We provided three 1000kW generators, one 300kVA and two 450kVA isolation transformers, one 6000A splitter, one 1200A and five 400A breaker disconnects. We also supplied four 1200A panels, 7,000 feet of multi conductor cable and 41,500 feet of single conductor cable, along with plenty of other smaller distribution equipment.

And that was just for the main course.

The TV compound and the bone yard each had their own generators and distribution equipment, adding up to one massive coordinated effort.

Despite sourcing the equipment from several Trinity branches across Canada, we were able to organize their timely delivery. “We were given the go-ahead on February 5th and by February 9th we had the first trucks bringing equipment to site,” recalls Nick Foster, the Trinity team’s project lead.

 

Giving It 110 Percent

While the equipment list for the event was immense, Trinity’s involvement extended well beyond sourcing generators and distribution.

The Trinity team was available 24/7 to answer any and all questions that the Gestev team had, as well as taking care of permitting and providing on-site expertise, and electricians to handle the install and running of equipment.

Trinity also responded quickly to the inevitable changes and redirections that come with a project of this scope.

“Whenever we had a problem they were able to solve it by coming up with an idea or providing a different type of equipment,” says Denny of the Trinity team.

The main problem was where to put the three main generators. “The original scope called for one generator in three different locations,” recalls Foster, “but that didn’t offer any protection if the generator failed.”

Instead, Trinity opted to place all three generators together at the centre of the course. This allowed the generators to run in parallel, so that if one failed, the other two could pick up the load. Not only that, but this set-up allowed for only one generator to run on non-event days, saving big on fuel costs, with the added benefit of making fueling and servicing as quick and straightforward as possible.

 

Crossing the Finish Line Together

The battles, disappointments and victories of the Red Bull Crashed Ice 2018 World Championships made for an exciting competition for athletes and spectators alike.

And thanks to the partnership between the Trinity and Gestev teams, everyone won the temporary power portion of the event.